According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling a water purifier delays the operating time of an agitator at an early stage of a current refrigerating cycle operation when a supercooled state has occurred in an immediately previous refrigerating cycle operation step.

In a water purifier or other liquid dispenser, a sensor configured to transmit and receive a distance measuring signal is installed in a water discharge module moving vertically or disposed at the front of a main body, to sense a height of the inlet of a container accurately without a no-response duration of the sensor. Additionally, in the water purifier, the water discharge module discharges purified water at a point spaced a certain distance apart from the inlet of the container, to prevent the inlet of the container from contacting the lower surface of the water discharge module.

A liquid dispenser, such as a water purifier, in one embodiment includes a water discharger connector provided with a water discharge valve configured to control discharge of purified water and a water discharge pipe connected to the water discharge valve, and a water discharger coupled to an upper side of the water discharger connector, and provided with a connector part that connects to the water discharge pipe based on fitted-coupling.

A networked system for providing and maintaining a set of liquid dispenser stations is described. The fluid dispensers communicate with a managing/supervisory cloud server via an interposed base station. The fluid dispensers communicate locally with the base station via wireless communication network links. The base station operates as an accumulator of status/usage information provided by the dispenser stations and bridge for passing information and control commands between the cloud server and the individual dispenser stations. The dispenser stations are configured with control processors (controllers) to facilitate performing a variety of local control operations associated with dispensing liquids that have been cooled (or heated) prior to dispensing by the dispenser stations. Additionally, the dispenser stations cooperatively operate with the cloud server (via the base station) to support a variety of real time control and maintenance operations relating to the dispenser stations operating at potentially thousands of distinct geographic locations.

A fluidic interconnect includes a first interface including a liquid port, a gas port, and a cradle; a second interface including a liquid port, a gas port, and a swing bar to engage the cradle, a weight of a container attached to one of the first or second interfaces to drive the liquid port of the first interface into connection with the liquid port of the second interface and the gas port of the first interface into connection with the gas port of the second interface.

The present invention relates to a water purifier. In detail, the water purifier includes: a water purifier body including a housing forming an external shape and filters disposed in the housing to filter original water flowing inside from the outside; a dispenser module at least partially protruding forward from the water purifier body and having a dispenser nozzle supplying water passing through the filters to the outside of the water purifier body; and a tray disposed under the dispenser nozzle. The dispenser module is turned to both sides and is moved up/down.

A water purifier includes a filter housing defining an accommodation space therein, a water discharge module including a water purifier body including a housing defining an outer appearance and a filter provided in the housing to filter raw water introduced from the outside and a water discharge nozzle mounted on the water purifier body to supply the water passing through the filter to the outside of the water purifier body, and a tray provided below the water discharge module. The water discharge module includes an elevation unit elevatably mounted on a front surface of the water purifier body so as to be elevated with respect to the water purifier body and a rotator having one side in which the water discharge nozzle is provided, rotatably mounted on the elevation unit, and allowing the water discharge nozzle to vary in position while being rotated with respect to the elevation unit.

A liquid dispenser includes a first lifting cover, a second lifting cover, a lifting motor, a gear module, and a dispenser nozzle. The first lifting cover includes a lifting gear extending in a vertical direction. The gear module includes a gear bracket coupled to the second lifting cover and a gear. The gear is rotated along the lifting gear by the operation of the lifting motor, and the second lifting cover is relatively moved with respect to the first lifting cover in the vertical direction.

A liquid dispenser may include a container having an upper opening, a pump provided in the container, a pipe through which liquid discharged from the pump is transferred, a top plate having an upper surface over which liquid flows, a filter assembly provided below the top plate, a base provided below the container, and a thermoelectric element provided in the base to cool the liquid in the container.

A needle for accessing a container having a closure, such as a cork of a wine bottle. The needle includes one or more lumens which may have a screen to resist passage of materials over a threshold size from a distal end of the lumen to a proximal end. The screen may help allow a cork to reseal after the needle is withdrawn from the cork, help resist blockage of an opening to the lumen (whether with cork or other material) and/or help prevent foreign matter from interfering with operation of one or more portions of the dispenser (such as cork particles preventing valve from opening or closing).